Research suggests £465m of foreign currency is ‘hoarded’ in UK men’s drawers

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Published:12:33Sunday 15 January 2017

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New research has been released which suggests British men collectively keep more than £465 million of foreign currency ‘stashed away in their bedside table drawers’.

The study, commissioned by self storage company Space Station, discovered that 56 per cent of British men hoard an average of £32.76 each, in various currencies.

It states: “It means that, among the UK’s 25 million men*, a total of the equivalent of £465,024,269 lays amongst other forgotten items like redundant phone chargers, watches, used batteries and old keys.”

Euros were found to make up the vast majority of the money, followed by US Dollars and Australian Dollars, according to the study.

It added: “Other forgotten but potentially valuable items kept with holiday currency are watches, with 20 per cent of men saying that two lay forgotten in the drawer.

“With many watches selling on eBay for between £20 and £300 on average, the bedside cabinet looks to be a goldmine of hidden treasure.”

In addition old phones were revealed to be one of the most commonly hoarded items, with ‘four in five men stashing at least one’.

Also making the list of ‘commonly hoarded’ items around the house by men were: Instruction manuals (91 per cent), screws and small hardware (87 per cent), old keys (74 per cent), membership cards (73 per cent) and old magazines (66 per cent).

“Everyone hoards old junk to some extent, but it seems that men have a real knack for keeping valuables together with things that they’re unlikely to ever use again, in the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ drawer.

“Some items, like expensive watches, can become more valuable over time, so it’s best to keep them in a safe place. Otherwise, though, the bedside table drawer is one of the best places to start when decluttering your home.”

For more advice from Space Station on ridding your home of junk, click here